Julia keeps lists in her diary–lists of everything she loses. When her lists end up including her dad and her home, she finds comfort in the pages, but she’ll need more than that to find the truth.
Twelve-year-old Julia keeps a diary about her life growing up in Juarez, Mexico. Life in Juarez is strange. Dad’s gone a lot. Drug cartels rule the streets. They can’t play outside because it isn’t safe. People say it’s the murder capital of the world. Cars and people disappear, leaving behind pet cats. When Julia’s Dad disappears, she and her brother go live with her aunt in El Paso. She scribbles and scribbles. What’s happened to her Dad? Is he going to disappear forever?
Sylvia Zéleny is a bilingual author from Sonora, México. Sylvia has published several short-story collections and novels in Spanish. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas at El Paso where she is currently the Director of the Online Creative Writing MFA program. In 2016 she created CasaOctavia, a residence for women and LGBTQ writers from Latin America.
Skipping Stones Magazine
"Conveying the grim challenges Julia faces, Zéleny creates a fierce, funny, and full-of-feeling protagonist whose staccato diary entries pull the reader along."
"Zéleny's lively novel, written in the form of a diary, captures Julia's voice perfectly as she matures. Julia's life is very different from most readers, but Zéleny's approachable, inviting writing makes it resonant on a broad scale."
"The Everything I Have Lost captures a girl's blossoming understanding of violence, family dysfunction, and what it means to grow up."
"This high-interest, authentic coming-of-age novel adds an important perspective to young adult collections."
A 13-year-old girl growing up in Mexico is visited by her 30-year-old future self in this powerful YA novel in verse about handling depression.
¡Este recuento del folclore de La Llorona causará escalofríos y deleite en lectores y oyentes de todas las edades!
